Military tanks used by the U.S. Army have ground tracks consisting of multiple track shoes pivotably linked together to form the track envelopes. Five or more roadwheels are carried at each side of the tank hull for rolling movements on upper faces of the track shoes.
Each roadwheel has a peripheral groove therein adapted to pass across upstanding centerguides carried by different ones of the track shoes. Commonly the roadwheel is formed out of two steel disks individually configured with divergent peripheral surfaces; when the disks are bolted together the divergent surfaces form a peripheral groove in the roadwheel.
The centerguides are located on the longitudinal centerline of the track to center the road wheels on the track surfaces, thereby preventing the roadwheels from running off the edge of the track. Side surfaces of the centerguides have rubbing contact with the groove surfaces on the road wheels. Substantial frictional forces are generated between the centerguides and the groove surfaces of the roadwheels. These forces cause the centerguides to vibrate.
It has been noted that under some conditions a high pitched sound is generated by the tracks. This sound is in the nature of a squeak or squeal. I believe this objectionable sound is attributable to vibrational motions of the centerguides, resulting from rubbing contact between the centerguides and the roadwheels.
My invention relates to a damper wall structure installable on each centerguide to reduce or eliminate vibrational movements that produce the objectionable squeaking sound.
Objects of the invention are to provide a damper wall structure that is:
1. capable of eliminating high pitched sounds that can cause damage or pain to the human ear drum, or that serve as a tank signature to enemy listening devices.
2. manufacturable at relatively low cost (in production quantities),
3. quickly (easily) installable on pre-existing centerguides, without modification of the centerguide structure, and
4. adapts to variations in centerguide contour (associated with normal metal forming tolerances and surface roughness tolerances).